03/15/2011

Brad Picks Emily, But It's Not All Sunshine and Roses

By now, you must have heard the news all over town; Brad Womack has picked Emily Maynard! He proposed and she said YES! It’s not all sunshine and roses though, but we’ll get to that later.

The finale begins with Brad reuniting with his brothers and his mom in South Africa. He’s so happy and overwhelmed to see them that he can’t control his emotions and he begins to cry. They ask him how he’s feeling and he says he’s 100% ready to propose! Wow!

First up, Chantal. She enters and gets to meet Brad’s family. They all seemed to love hanging out with her and getting to know her. They love that she would marry Brad today and that she truly loves him. Brad’s mom also made a great connection with her and told her that she’s absolutely “Precious”! She said that meeting his family completely confirmed her feelings that she is totally in love with him.

Next, Emily meets Brad’s family. Wes, Brad’s brother, said that he noticed that Emily is more reserved and not as outgoing as Chantal. Still, Emily told her story to his family, about how she was engaged, her fiancé died, and she had little Ricki. They were all shocked and saddened by her story and I think it really bonded them to her. Then, Brad and his twin, Chad, and his other brother Wes go outside to talk. It was a serious talk where they explain to Brad what being a father entails and how important it is. They wanted to make sure he is ready and he tells them that is ready and he gets the warmest feeling when he thinks about Emily and being a father to little Ricki. Brad’s mother, who seemed like she was a little hard to win over at first because she liked Chantal so much, did a complete 180 and fell in love with Emily. She told her how much she appreciated her letting Brad meet Ricki and Emily told her what a great father Brad would be. That just melted her heart!

Once the family had meet both women, the consensus was, Emily was totally the girl for Brad. I’ve never seen the show be so open about who the front-runner was! Brad’s mom called Emily the whole package!

Then it was time for Brad to go on his final dates with each woman. Brad and Chantal go swimming with some great white sharks! She comments to him that he, “better put a ring on my finger or you suck!” He just said, “Easy, easy”. You notice, he never put her mind at ease! Still they swam with the sharks and had a great time.

Later that night, Chantal gave him a very touching gift. It was a map of all of the places they had been and she wrote down things like their first kiss, first dates...etc. It was really sweet. She also wrote him a romantic letter where she basically proposes to him! He kisses her goodbye, but it never seemed to get too passionate. I smelled trouble for Chantal at this point.

For Emily’s final date, they head to the “Cape of Good Hope” and have a picnic. She tells him that she’s fallen in love with him, and he tells her how much his family loves her. She gets really serious and tells him that he can’t expect to be going and having beers with the guys at 6 p.m. at night if he picks her. His face totally fell. This was not going how he had expected. He tries to put her mind at ease and still things seem to not go how he had hoped.

Later that night, they hang out and have a long talk. Brad tells her very eloquently that he loves her and he can’t wait to be a father, not just a step-father, but a real father to little Ricki. He guarantees her that he could love them a lot if she allows him to. She turns the tables around and starts asking him if he really understands what that means, and if he is really ready for it. He feels like she threw what he said back in his face and he starts having trouble breathing and leaves the room to drink some water. It was so uncomfortable, but honestly, I think he overreacted! I mean, she has every right to ask whatever she needs to ask, it is after all, not the most normal of circumstances. He leaves confused.

Still despite his shaky date with Emily, he meets with Neil Lane to pick out an AMAZING engagement ring.

I loved his choice, very sparkly!

At last, it’s time for the limos to arrive. Out of the limo first...Chantal. She looked gorgeous in a black dress that reminded me of “Black Swan” but had an element of doom about it. Note to future bachelorettes: wear a cheery dress for good luck. He starts off by telling her how gorgeous she looks, but then lowered the boom by explaining that he simply had developed more feelings for someone else. She left in the limo and said that she felt really stupid. She said, “I have been so convinced that he was the one, and he didn’t even love me.” So sad.

Then Emily arrived, dressed all in white. See, this just screams bride! She said that she realizes that Brad is the perfect guy for her. Brad is all smiles and he tells her that she is his “once in a lifetime”. It was one of the nicest proposals (other than my own) that I have ever heard. He got down on one knee, and asked her if she would “Give him her forever” and she said yes! I wish she would have jumped up and down, or laughed a little, it was just so serious! Still, I was so happy for them.

Now, it was time for “After the Final Rose”. It began with Chantal coming out and talking about her time with Brad. That brought tears to her eyes. Still, she is happy and has moved on. She’s even dating someone new! Once they brought Brad out, she had some tough questions for him. He pretty much admitted he kept her around because he was extremely attracted to her and had a great time. Still, she felt like he made light of their relationship and felt really hurt.

Then after chatting with just Brad for a bit, it was time to reunite the happy couple. Well, they are semi-happy at least. Reality as they say bites. Watching the show proved to be a bit too much for Emily, as did Brad’s temper. They actually BROKE UP for a little while, but did get back together and are happy to report that they are still ENGAGED! Phew!

They almost got married on the “After the Final Rose” special, or at least that was the plan, but Emily basically called it off. She is not ready to move her daughter to Austin yet, and she feels that they need some time now that the show is over to get to really know each other and see how life is. I think that’s very smart, but you didn’t have to be a rocket scientist to see that Brad is having a hard time being patient. He wants to marry her right away, but he’s willing to wait it out, at least for now. He told her, “You’re not losing my love ever”. He really does seem committed to making it work.

Hoping some of their luck will rub off on the new couple, Trista & Ryan, Jason & Molly, and Ali & Roberto came out to give some advice to the new couple. The consensus was to avoid the tabloids and blogs (except this one of course). It was nice to see so many happy people still in love!

As the grand finale, Brad put the ring back on her finger for good since she hasn’t been able to wear it around lately because up until that moment, their engagement had been a secret!

I’ll have a conference call with Chantal Tuesday afternoon, so please check back for that.

Comments

The final rose ceremony did not convince me that Emily was happy that she won Brad! She said "I love you too", very very soft and then once again, with a look of horror on her face, causing her to kneel down and panic by holding Brads face! It seemed to me that Emily was visibly nervous, and unhappy that she now found herself the winner, and was pretending to be happy when really she felt as if she were in a pickle with Pickelsiemer! Chantel on the other hand was my personal favorite. She has quick humor and a friendly and kind personality, not to mention the most gracious and composed second runner up ever, and to me a really rare beauty inside and out. Did you see the stunning beauty in her face, not to mention her lovely perfect figure in the swimsuit photos for Sports Illustrated? She is prettier than the top models around the world and more lovely than Emily in my opinion. Congratulatioins to Chantel for finding a new relationship, also wishing her health and happiness!